About Teen Pregnancy

Abstract

Teenage is the age from thirteen years to the age of nineteen. This is a stage of transition from childhood to adulthood. During this stage, a lot of changes are experienced in the life of a teenager. There are physical body changes as well as emotional changes witnessed during this stage. Girls are the most affected lot in this stage and they can easily be misused by their age mates or older men. Today, there are a lot of dangers that result from irresponsible sexual behavior. There are sexually transmitted diseases, the most dangerous being HIV and also there is pregnancy. The society that we are living in is immoral and these problems are recurring (Kirby, 2001). This paper discusses teen pregnancy as one of the family problems.

Brief History

As technology increases in the world, so does the things that we do change. There has been an increase in immorality in society. Young girls and boys (as young as nine) are engaging in sexual behaviors. They are doing so willingly and others may be out of being misled by their mates or older people. When a teenager engages in sex, without protection, there is a tendency that they can become pregnant. This is a pregnancy that is not forced on the child. There are also other incidences of rape or statutory rape that may result in the pregnancy of a girl. Whichever the case, it is a result of a rotten society since a statutory rape will have occurred before a pregnancy has occurred.

Describe Assessment of the Family Type You Selected With Use of Applicable Theories

Adolescent childbearing hurts all the parties involved that is, the parents, the child itself, and the adolescent. This also extends to the general society. The starting point in addressing the issue is interpolating the underlying factors that lead to this vice. Some studies have been conducted on this effect and have defined the areas that need to be addressed; the studies are aimed to give correlation between certain factors in life and relate them to teen pregnancy. There is a high correlation between poverty and teen pregnancy. Teens from poor families are more likely to be pregnant at this stage than those who come from well-to-do families. The explanation that has been developed by sociologists is the issue of self-esteem. Girls from poor families have low self-esteem and thus become easy prey to irresponsible men. There is also a relation between the level of education that parents of a girl have and the possibility that the girl will become pregnant. Those ladies from educated families are not likely to get pregnant at this stage (East & Jacobson, 2003).

Shared Risk Factor

This theory establishes the relationship between the environs of a teenager and the possibility of engaging in premarital sex. Under this theory, the blame is not on the adolescent or the parent alone but the general society. As we had mentioned earlier (about the relationship between poverty and teen pregnancy), then in poor areas this vice is more likely to be available. This includes slums and the opposite is true. The environs expose a child to early sex and this may lead to pregnancy (Friede, Hogue, Doyle, Hammerslough, Sniezek & Arrighi, 1986).

Modeling Theory

Under this theory, a lot of emphasis is vested on the rearing of a child. In this case, the parents and the near child people with whom the child socializes have a part to play. The socialization process is the one that gives character to a child. If the behaviors of a child’s parents are those that advocate for early sex, then the child is more likely to engage in it. By encouraging I mean that a parent may fail to stand strong to deter a child from engaging in teen sex and thus the child engages and gets pregnant. There is also the control that a parent should have on the exposure that the child has. He may limit the television programs that the child watches to ensure that a child watches only those that are morally accepted. It holds some sense to blame parents for the unacceptable behavior that children have; this is from a biological point of view and considering the way the parents up bring the child. The way a parent conducts himself/ herself has an impact on the life of the child, the child is more likely to behave the same in his/her earlier life. The guidance that the child gets from the parent goes a long way in making the child a respectable person and one who upholds moral behaviors. The blame should not be entirely on the parents, there are other behaviors that a child can develop long after moving away from the parent (East, 1999).

Describe nursing intervention strategies applicable to this family situation based on health promotion: health belief models, family theory, and analysis of family function that are supported by literature or research

The health belief model is a model that emphasizes family health issues. It emphasizes that the family as a unit should be responsible for its health from all angles. The doctors and medical practitioners should only come in as support to the family. In our case, the issue of adolescent pregnancy can be prevented if a family as a unit of discipline upholds this role appropriately (Aaronld, 1998). The family theory does not move far from health belief models, it tends to put more emphasis on the general situation of the family not singling out a single area like health. It analyses the family as the source of all goods that a person can have in life and thus all areas of the family interaction and the way it does things should be addressed (Becker, 1974).

Describe the Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse as a Case Manager in This Type of Nursing Situation

This is a way that instead of looking for a solution to the problem and then giving the solution to the teenagers, the focus is changed in a way that the teenagers are actively involved in looking for the solution to this vice. Not many parents are free with their teen to a point that they can discuss the issue of sex; they shy off and assume that their children are not engaging in this activity or else they don’t have questions to ask about sex. This is not true though. Studies show that teens are willing to talk about their fears when it comes to sex especially if they are in a situation of sharing. By using this approach, then the vice can be addressed. To administer this, there should be interactive sections with the teenagers in all areas. This will help in having an informed teenager that can make decisions about sex on their own (Bryant-Lukosius, DiCenso, Browne, Pinelli, 2004).

Reference List

Aaronld, J. (1998). Health Promotion: Handbook. Boston, MA: Mosby.

Becker, M. (1974). The health belief model and personal health behavior. Thorofare, NJ: Slack.

Bryant-Lukosius D, DiCenso A, Browne G, Pinelli, J. (2004). Advanced practice nursing roles: development, implementation, and evaluation. J Adv Nurs 2004; 48 (5): 519-29. (s).

East, P. (1999).The first teenage pregnancy in the family: Does it affect mothers’ parenting, attitudes, or mother-adolescent communication? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 306-319.

East, P., & Jacobson, L. (2003). Mothers’ differential treatment of their adolescent childbearing and nonchildbearing children: Contrasts between and within families. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(3), 384-396.

Friede, A., Hogue, C., Doyle, L.L., Hammerslough, C., Sniezek, J., & Arrighi, H. (1986). Do the sisters of childbearing teenagers have increased rates of childbearing? American Journal of Public Health, 76(10), 1221-1224. 4 Frost, J., & Oslak, S. (1999).Teenagers.

Kirby, D. (2001). Emerging answers: Research findings on programs to reduce teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

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